Stomp It Like Lucy! North Fork Grape Harvest Festival at DeepHole

Photo: Wally Gobetz

September 17, 2013 by Oliver Peterson

It’s not exactly the most sanitary way to make wine, but stomping grapes certainly looks like fun. Admit it, anyone who remembers that famous grape stomping episode of I Love Lucy has probably fantasized about smashing some fruit between their toes. Now that dream can become a reality.

North Fork wine cooperative DeepHole, LLC is hosting its first Grape Harvest Festival in Baiting Hollow on Saturday—and there will be stomping.

Like a vegetable CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program, DeepHole will sell shares of its wines. Buying three cases for a total of $500 equals one share in the release, though partial shares can be purchased in one-case increments for $180. All the wine’s grapes are grown at Farr’s organic farm and then sent to winemaker Russell Hearn of Premium Wine Group in Mattituck.

Hearn will be speaking about winemaking at the Festival on Saturday.

“This is a brand new venture for us,” Farr said, calling DeepHole the “ultimate organic vine to wine” endeavor. Farr has been growing grapes for just a few years, but he has been farming for three decades.

On Saturday, the Grape Harvest Festival’s picking and stomping activities will not use his precious wine grapes, which are all carefully harvested and kept for next year’s release. Farr said he’s considering the possibility of a nice rose. In the future, he may even make his grapes available to purchase for home winemakers.

The DeepHole Grape Harvest Festival is at 156 Youngs Avenue in Baiting Hollow. The event runs from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, September 21. Tickets are $10 for adults (free for children under 12) and available at farrmwine.com.